For me, it was kind of a “sleeper Psalm”, at first. I read it through . . . pretty much sounded like a lot of other psalms. A call to give thanks . . . a remembrance of the Lord’s goodness as manifest in His mighty deeds on behalf of the psalmist . . . frequent declarations of praise scattered throughout. Yup, pretty much your standard Psalm. Oh, give your head a shake, Pete! First, there are no “standard psalms” . . . just God-breathed songs able to capture the child of God’s experience and evoke wonder and worship. Second, there’s something in this Psalm that I don’t think I’ve really seen in other psalms . . . something that ties me up in knots . . . or at least should . . .

Linger over Psalm 118 and it’s not long before you start to soar. It’s book-ended with a call to “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (118:1,29). The NIV says “His love endures forever” . . . the NASB, “His lovingkindness endures forever” . . . NLT, “His faithful love” . . . ESV, “His steadfast love” . . . and Peterson says it in classic MSG style, “His love never quits.” Pick one of those . . . anyone of those . . . and tell me you can’t say, “Amen!” So, give thanks to the Lord for He is good.

The Psalmist then goes on to recount the evidences of His faithful love and to respond in outbreaks of spontaneous praise. Along the way he draws some pretty pragmatic conclusions, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes” (118:8). And so, says the Psalmist, “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation” (118:14).

My strength, my song, my salvation . . . and I say, “Yes!” to the “S” words. Salvation is mine through the finished work on the cross . . . deliverance accomplished . . . rescue from the bondage and penalty of sin secured. I have known His sustaining grace as He has strengthened my inner man time and time again. And, the song of the redeemed as been placed on my lips . . . a melody of praise interwoven within my soul . . . “Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord!” (118:19)

Psalm 118 helps put on the garment of praise . . . leads the reader through the gates and into the temple area . . . creates a processional of praise and worship . . . “The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous” (118:15) . . . “I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation” (118:21). But then I encounter something in verse 27 that causes me to pause . . . that, at first, stems the tide of praise a bit . . . evoking an image that maybe seems a bit out of place . . . and then not . . .

“Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.” (118:27b)

So why “interrupt” this parade of praise . . . this storming the gates of heaven with songs of redemption . . . with the image of a lamb bound to the altar of sacrifice? At first, I think it’s perhaps an allusion to the Lamb of God sacrificed for my sin, the One the psalmist has introduced as “the stone which the builders rejected” . . . the One who “has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (118:22-23).

True enough. But as I think about it a bit more, Romans 12:1 comes to mind . . . “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God . . . ” (Oh, give thanks to the Lord . . . For His mercy endures forever) . . . “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, . . . ” (bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar) . . . “holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

It’s great to give thanks to the Lord . . . it brings Him delight when the voice of rejoicing is heard from the tents . . . He is lifted up through our worship . . . but let’s not forget, says the Psalmist, to bring and bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. My worship is complete when I offer myself as a living sacrifice . . . when I submit myself to the altar . . . when I bind myself to it . . . when I’m “tied up in knots” of surrender . . . for His praise . . . and for His glory. Oh, gives thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love lasts forever! Amen?